A young Kyrgyz boy sits in the driver’s seat of his father’s Lada in Nura, Kyrgyzstan. 

An earthquake on October 6, 2008 hit the village, resulting in at least 75 deaths and leveling about 100 buildings. That means this boy was probably just a year or so old during the catastrophe.Statistics state 100 buildings but when I was there I’d be surprised if there were more than 200 people in this small border village in Kyrgyzstan, bordering China.

All the buildings are now new and they have interior heating and some of the best insulated windows I’ve seen in Central Asia. This was funded by NGOs and international aid, which Central Asia is full of, especially their neighbor Tajikistan.

As someone that has been based in China since 2008, I’m always in awe of the dramatic difference when I cross into a border country. The immediate difference and poverty will never cease to shock me.

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